Competing with a mask is tough but worth it, Tiverton players say

TIVERTON — Wearing masks and social distancing are two of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s rules that must be followed if fall sports teams want to continue to play.

The Tiverton High girls soccer team hosted Rogers on Saturday afternoon, and it was easy to see the the players were abiding by the law.

The Tigers and Vikings kept their masks on until rules allowed them to take them off. The referee’s battery-operated whistle sounded during the first-dead ball situation after the midway point of the opening half, allowing the players to walk to their bench area, remove their masks and get a drink.

“I think our team as a whole did a very good job conditioning with them on to get used to it,” said Rogers senior forward Alexandra Cranson. “So now I’m kind of just running around and it doesn’t really phase me that much. Sometimes it gets a little sweaty and it gets a little hard to breath, but it’s not that big of an issue.

“Personally I don’t mind the mask. As a senior, just having to get to play my season, wearing a mask is just something you’ve got to do.”

“It makes it a little bit harder to breath because it makes it all muggy, which is a little annoying,” said Tiverton sophomore Amelia Gerlach. “But all of this is necessary, so we deal with it.”

Mask-wearing may have affected Mariah Ramos’ breathing, but it did not affect her play. The high-scoring senior striker picked up where she left off last season as she netted the first three goals of the game en route to a 4-0 Tiverton victory.

“Wearing a mask is definitely tough, but we have to adapt to the situation,” Ramos said. “It’s a little tough constantly running but we can manage. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve got it.”

It wasn’t hard to see social distancing enforced in the teams’ bench area. Both teams have around 25 players on their roster. Since 11 players are on the field, that left each squad with about a dozen players on the sideline.

Tiverton Athletic Director Bob Murray knew players would not be safely distanced sitting in the bench area as in the past, so he purchased some folding chairs and made sure they were appropriately placed on the sideline.

Ciara Caulfield, a Rogers freshman, sat in a chair at the end of the row that put her in a perfect position to focus on the goalie. Classmate Kendra Kirwin sat in the next closest chair in the same vicinity.

“Sometimes I’m not really sure who’s talking because we’re so spread out. It’s different,” Caulfield said.

“It was really weird being so spread out and not being with your teammates and having to talk to somebody,” Kirwin said. “It’s a lot of asking like, ‘What’d you say?’ They kind of like have to scream at the top of their lungs to get the message down there.”

Gerlach had the seat farthest from midfield for Tiverton. She looked like she’d lost a musical chairs competition or was given a “timeout” by her coaches.

“We were all getting chairs and everyone else had theirs up so ... it’s OK,” Gerlach said. “It’s not the same as last year. Then you could talk to everyone, talk about the plays that were happening. But this is necessary. We understand that. But it’s a little strange.”

Rogers senior Anna Murphy said when she runs during the game she has a problem with her mask. But like the other players, she’s willing to put up with it in order to compete.

“You try to breathe in and the mask comes with it,” Murphy said. “But I was so nervous [soccer] was going to get pushed to February or something, so it’s just so nice to be out here. I’m just so glad we can do it.”

“It’s so nice to be able to get back to what we love doing,” Tiverton junior Kate Zmich said. “I think that even with the mask on we can still play the game that we would always play.”

Cranson, who had two shots on goal and was robbed of a score when Tiverton keeper Emma Lopes made a diving save, wasn’t complaining about the outcome.

“Being with my friends and my teammates and being able to play is just really good to me,” Cranson said. “I think personally this is one of the biggest joys right now.”